The Bangladesh Cricket Board (PCB) has announced that the participation of its cricketers in the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL) will continue, citing ongoing regional tensions, subject to approval from the government.
After being selected by the franchises for the tournament scheduled to be held from March 26 to May 3, the six players were initially issued No Objection Certificates (NOCs) by the BCB.
They are: Mustafizur Rahman, Parvez Hossain Emon (Lahore Qalandars), Shoriful Islam, Nahid Rana, Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Rishad Hossain (Peshawar Zalmi).
However, due to security concerns related to cross-border tensions, the board has now opted to seek government approval before allowing them to travel.
“Of course, we take permission from the government before sending our cricketers to PSL. Under normal circumstances, these are not required. We give permission, they go and play and come back,” BCB’s head of cricket operations Nazmul Abedin said.
“But because the situation is not normal and there is a risk aspect to the players, obviously we will discuss it with the government.
“We will seek to know from the government whether it is safe to travel or not and based on that government’s decision, we will have to take a final call on whether the players will go or not,” he added.
“Because it’s not really possible to understand the situation there. The government knows it. The government knows it, and if the government says it’s safe to go, the players can travel, the players will go. But in principle, we have decided that we will give the NOC and play. But it depends on the situation at the time.”
It is understood that if the players get government clearance, they will miss the preparatory camp for the white-ball series against New Zealand, which starts in the last week of March.
The Black Caps are scheduled to play three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) in Dhaka and Chattogram on April 13.
The ODIs will be played on April 17, 20 and 23, followed by T20Is on April 27, 29 and May 2.
With Bangladesh in the running for next year’s ICC ODI World Cup qualifiers, the BCB has issued partial NOCs for most players to remain in the ODI series.
Bangladesh recently climbed to the ninth spot in the ICC ODI rankings following their 2-1 series win over Pakistan.
A 3-0 sweep against New Zealand would not improve their position but would help close the gap on eighth-placed England, who are currently nine points clear.
Mustafizur Rahman has been granted NOC from March 26 to April 12 and again from April 24 to May 3. The arrangement would allow him to play in ODIs but exclude him from T20Is.
Dansid Hasan, Shoriful Islam, Nahid Rana and Rishad Hossain have been given NOCs till April 12, ensuring their availability for both formats.
Pervez Hossain, meanwhile, is only in the T20I squad with clearance till April 21.